High brightness sources for emitting light are interesting for various applications including spots, stage-lighting, headlamps and digital light projection. For this purpose, it is possible to make use of so-called light concentrators comprising a wavelength converting member converting light of a first wavelength to light of a second wavelength. Generally, the wavelength converting member converts a substantial portion of the light of a shorter wavelength to light with longer wavelengths. The wavelength converting member may further be shaped as a rod which is illuminated by a light source to produce light with a longer wavelength within the rod. Converted light is transported in the rod by for example total internal reflection and may be extracted from one of the small, or short, sides of the rod, i.e. smaller than the light entrance surface of the rod, which leads to an intensity gain in the converted light emitted from the rod. However, such a light concentrator based light source is rather inefficient and it is challenging to obtain high intensities needed for certain applications.
Alternatively, high intensity light with a desirable spectral distribution may be obtained by a system using a bright light source such as a light emitting diode, LED, or a laser where a high intensity light beam emitted by the light source is sent to a rotating wheel comprising a wavelength converting member such as a phosphor element. The amount of light from the light source that interacts with the wavelength converting member of the rotating wheel determines the spectral distribution of the light emitted. However, having a mechanical moving part reduces the reliability of the system.